Objects in web browser are filthier than they appear
Do not listen to the camera’s lies; the Trek has accumulated a truly amazing amount of road grime after the approximately 45km of snow and slush riding it’s been on this week. Fortunately(?) it appears that winter will be backing off for a few days, so I may actually be able to take it out for a nice long ride without getting snow and ice packed into every conceivable nook and cranny within the first 10 kilometers.
Semicircular fenders are a particular source of snow&ice amusement here; the snow freezes against the metal rivets that attach the struts and crownbolt bracket, and that clot of ice keeps the rest of the snow from escaping, thus resulting in a nice long curved piece of convex black ice that rubs against the tire in a cheerful little “as soon as you stop for a picture or any sort of control analogue, I’m going to freeze to the tire and you won’t be riding any more today!” manner. In a somewhat more rich reality, I’d have already bought a torch and will have welded up a longtail frame that’s set up for 24 inch wheels with LOTS of clearance up to the fenders, which are conveniently arranged for easy debris removal. In this reality, I’ve already marked the “don’t ride any R200s if snowstorms are involved, because chipping the wheels loose in the middle of the night would not be fun At All” check item in the “things I want to do with this bicycle in 2009” list.
(But, aside from the amazing amount of snow that gets accumulated, 700C×25 wheels seem to do ok in the snow. I’m dreadfully slow (~15km/h on the flatflatflat Portland Traction trail) but the bicycle doesn’t show any desire to turn turtle on me, even when I throw caution to the winds and (briefly) accelerate up to the somewhat less sluggish rate of 20km/h. And this is good, because it’s kind of fun to paddle about in the snow and I can’t afford to buy a dedicated snowbike to do that.)